Over a cup of coffee ... Harvard's affirmative action; on 'tough' Asian moms; Eric Liu on the meaning of patriotism

Small pleasures: A good cup of dark roast coffee and taking the time to read. Back in the backyard this Sunday, enjoying life ...

Asian Americans are near the center of the debate of what the future of America might look like. Part of that raging debate is the idea of affirmative action.

It's not a black or white issue (pun intended) and there's no easy answer because Harvard, as prestigious as it is, can't be excused for some of the flaws of admissions process. The AAPI communities are split on this.

The judge in the affirmative action case against Harvard was supposed to issue a ruling in early 2019 after hearing the arguments for and against in December 2018.

Well, here it is - September and still no decision. Jay Caspian Kang wrote a piece for The New York Times Magazine goes over the history of that case, what's at stake, and what could happen after the judge gives his ruling.

No matter which side of the argument the judge rules forg, it's going to the US Supreme Court. With the conservative majority on the High Court, the nature of affirmative action will be affected: Thumbs up, or thumbs down.

Read Kang's think piece, here.

NYT GRAPHIC / RONGHUI CHEN

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NPR has had this story out for a couple of weeks but I haven't been able to get to it until today.

To siblings Flip and Christine Cuddy, Susan Ahn Cuddy was "Mom."

But she was also a Korean American lieutenant in the U.S. Navy who trained pilots to shoot down enemies during World War II.

It wasn't until historian John Cha's biography of Susan was published in 2002 that her children learned about many of their mother's accomplishments. Read about this "tough" mom, here.

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Part of my Sunday was spent watching CBS's Sunday Morning. This show is always a shot in the arm and gives me hope, something that isn't always so obvious the rest of the week.
It is always a great way to start a week. 

In case you missed it, Eric Liu had an inspirational segment this morning (Sept. 1) that deserves to be shared with all your social media contacts.

A former speechwriter for the Clinton White House Liu is also an author of "Become America" he muses about true patriotism. He basically reinforces what I've always believed. Democracy is a participatory process. It doesn't work if citizens  just sit on the sidelines hoping everything is going to be OK.

He says, "True patriotism doesn't require that we all join the military. It does require us all to show up more, contribute more, participate more, be more useful to more people. To vote, volunteer, serve, listen, learn, empathize, circulate power rather than hoard it."

"Circulate power," I like that phrase.

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